Chapter Text
Making sure that the K/DA house had a garage was the best decision that Evelynn ever made.
The space was tucked neatly against the side of the mansion, with three giant motorised doors on its front face that rolled up and out of the way to allow access to the brightly lit interior. The walls were painted brilliant white, making the inside feel larger and complementing the smooth concrete floor which was fifty feet wide and twice as long with a hydraulic lift in the leftmost corner. There was space enough for at least eight cars with a medium sized tool chest in the middle of the back wall. Shelves ran around the walls at head height stocked with cans of oil, neatly labelled boxes and spare parts.
Most importantly, there were cars.
Dropping her spanner onto a small metal cart, Evelynn double checked that she had got the balance of the throttle linkage right. As much as she loved the massive supercharger poking out of the hood of her ‘68 Charger, it was an absolute bitch to maintain, especially since she hadn't driven it after making the music video for “Villian.” Although Ahri was the de facto leader of K/DA, Eve was in charge of handling operations that required a...firmer style of management alongside her own businesses, which meant that her time for cars was limited.
Today was the start of a weekend off for everyone however, which was why the K/DA house was empty; Kai'Sa and Ahri had rented a mountain cabin for the weekend and Akali was out with Qiyana and the True Damage crew (Eve was only a tiny bit jealous). Everyone being out was a good thing, Eve reflected as she swung herself into the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition; this car was loud. She smiled in satisfaction as it coughed once and then burst into life before settling into a choppy idle, the riotous noise coming from the big V8 absolutely deafening in the closed space. Sitting in the driver’s seat and checking over all the dials in front of her, it was only the vibrating of her phone that let her know she was getting a call. Sliding it out of her pocket, she raised an eyebrow at the unknown number flashing at her. Barely anyone had her personal number, least of all anyone whose number wasn’t already saved in her own phone.
Curiosity getting the better of her, she left the Charger burbling away to itself and stepped out of the garage before tapping the ‘Accept’ button.
“Yes?”
“Uhhhhhhh hi! This is going to sound super strange but my name's Seraphine, I’m a friend of Akali’s, she gave me your number because she's out of town and can't get back in time and she said you're really good with cars and you're in the neighbourhood-”
The voice was feminine and surprisingly nice to listen to despite rambling on and on in a nervous rush. Evelynn let her speak for a few moments before interrupting.
“Listen - Seraphine, was it? I need you to calm down for a minute and tell me exactly why you're calling a number that exactly 4 other people have.”
There was a pause, a hushed intake of breath and then -
“My car's broken down.”
Evelynn raised an eyebrow. “And you're calling me instead of a tow truck because?”
“Actually I called my partner first and then Akali but I didn't call a tow truck becauseIcan’taffordtopayforonerightnow.”
The last part was delivered all in one rushed and slightly panicked breath, which is what Evelynn supposed decided her response.
“Right. Where are you right now, Seraphine?”
“Um, I'm at the downtown McDonald's, the one off 21st street.”
“Ok. I want you to go inside, sit down and stay put. I'll be there in 20 minutes.”
“Uhh sure. I'm sorry-Akali didn't have time to tell me your name. How will I know when you're here?”
“You'll know,” said Evelynn simply and hung up. Shaking her head, she walked back into the garage and shut off the idling car. Looking around the garage, she considered her options for her new role as mobile mechanic. No to the Charger or Aventador, and Akali had borrowed the Porsche for the day. Ahri’s Maserati would have worked but she and Kai'Sa had taken it with them, which left…
Evelynn sighed as she retrieved the keys to Kai'Sa’s scuffed and dented Toyota minivan. It would at the very least blend into the neighbourhood, she reflected moodily as she started the engine and looked up the address of the McDonald’s.
*
Evelynn’s phone dinged and she pulled into the parking lot of the promised McDonald’s. The white lines painted onto the ground to split up spaces had long since faded to a dirty grey and she felt the minivan’s tires crunch across debris littered here and there. She slowed down to scan the half full parking lot, skipping over most of it until her eyes fell onto a white hatchback sitting forlornly by itself in a space close to the building. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be a Mitsubishi from the early 2000’s, with fading paintwork and more than a few dents in its bodywork. Backing into the spot next to it, she gave it a quick look before heading for the doors of the McDonald’s.
The door moved hesitantly and tinkled a bell above it as she pushed it open, the artificial chill of air conditioning mixed with the smell of grease rushing out to greet her. She ignored the cashier and scanned the restaurant like she had the parking lot earlier. Most tables were occupied by groups of threes or fours, families with children or loudmouthed teenagers. Only one table was occupied by a single person, whose bright pink hair was poking out above the seat of her window booth. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and redialed the last number that had called her to make sure, and once she saw the pink hair shift as its owner dug out a phone with an annoyingly shrill ringtone she made her way over.
Seraphine looked up as she strode up to her booth, still with her phone in her hand. Her hair was what struck Evelynn first, both the fact that it was eye scorchingly bright pink as well as the sheer volume of it, disappearing below the table in a riot of long curls. She wore a baggy sweatshirt that hung off one shoulder, and had a small dermal piercing in the shape of a star. Bright blue eyes tracked Evelynn as she slid into the seat opposite her, wrinkling her nose in distaste as the vinyl stuck to the back of her thighs.
Seraphine’s eyes suddenly widened as the penny very obviously dropped. “Ev-Evelynn?”
“You must be Seraphine,” Evelynn said with a nod. “Akali seriously didn’t tell you whose number she was giving you?”
“Uhhhhhh no she said something about having to fight a guy? And that you were really good with cars…also she said to tell you that ‘a True Damage inspiration session is in progress’ and not to wait up?”
“Of course she did,” Evelynn said, rolling her eyes but smiling all the same. “Ok, you’ve got yourself a mechanic. What happened to your car? It’s the white Mirage outside right?”
“Yeah, the one parked right out front. I was just coming up to the stop light here and it kinda… went bang? I was doing about 30 and there was this huge bang and then the whole thing started shaking so I pulled off into this place and then when I looked under it there was this whole pool of stuff and I don’t know anything about cars so I tried to call my partner and then she didn’t pick up so I called Akali and then she said to call you and then - yeah”, Seraphine trailed off, looking more than a little lost.
“Let’s go look at it then,” Evelynn said, already halfway out of her seat. “This place makes my skin crawl - literally”, she added as she got up and the vinyl made a concerted effort to follow her.
*
The Mitsubishi’s hood popped up with a thunk and Evelynn unlatched it with deft fingers before lifting it up. The smell of hot oil and metal rose up at her as she propped it open and considered the lump of grimy metal that was revealed.
The lump of grimy metal with a hole in the side of it.
Her suspicions were proven correct as she bent down and peered beneath the car and was greeted by the sight of a pool of black oil on the ground, along with a few bits of misshapen metal. “About how fast did you say you were going when it started to rattle?”, she asked as she stood up and turned to the nervous girl next to her. “30, maybe? I usually go the speed limit and I wasn’t trying to overtake anyone when it made that noise.” Evelynn nodded and ducked around to the side of the car and opened the driver’s door. The odometer read just over 150,000 miles which she supposed was about a fair estimate for the lifetime of the Mitsubishi.
“I think it might be time for a new car, darling,” Evelynn said as she closed the door gently. “Your engine’s thrown a rod through the block and quite honestly it’ll cost more than it’s worth to find a new one and have it put in.”
Seraphine managed to look so much more lost that Evelynn felt a pang of sympathy. “Don’t worry about it now, I can give you a lift to wherever you need to be. You can just leave the car here and I’ll arrange for it to be gone by the morning.”
Seraphine nodded slowly and sniffed. “I'll just...get my things then,” she said and stiffly opened the Mitsubishi’s door before rummaging around inside it for a few minutes. By the time Evelynn had got the minivan unlocked and started Seraphine was standing by the door with an armful of the usual detritus that ended up in a car; notebooks and envelopes and a small purse and a guitar case dangling from her arm. Eveylnn hit the release for the doors and Seraphine dumped her armful of things into the back before climbing into the passenger seat and fastening her seatbelt. Being keen to get the hell out of the seediest McDonald's in town, Evelynn had already turned into traffic and was on her way out of town before she realised she had no idea where Seraphine needed to go.
She turned to the mass of pink hair that was slumped in the seat next to her and was about to ask for a destination when she was interrupted by another loud sniffle. Seraphine’s face was scrunched up in the most obvious ‘trying not to cry’ expression Evelynn had seen in a while with her hands knotted tightly in her lap, fingernails digging into her palms deep enough to mark.
“Are you alright?”
“I'm f-fine. Could you just drop me at the-at the nearest bus stop, I'll get a ride home and call in s-sick.”
“Seraphine, you’re a worse liar than Akali and we both know that she’s terrible at lying. I’m not dropping you off at any bus stop looking like that, and quite frankly no bus is going to let you on with all that stuff. What’s wrong? You didn’t love that car that much…right?” Eve asked doubtfully.
“No it's just been th-this whole week and setting up things at w-work and Rell starting a new job and, and…”
Evelynn turned to her and found that Seraphine had dissolved into silent tears. Usually, tearing up in a car Evelynn was driving for anything short of the loss of a major bodily component would result in an instant ejection, but for some reason Seraphine was…different. Maybe it was the fact that she was so obviously having A Day or the babe in the woods look she had given Evelynn at the McDonald’s, but Evelynn found herself unable to react with anything other than sympathy, and before she knew it -
“...and since it’s already late, you might as well come back to the house and go home tomorrow. It’s just me tonight as well since the others won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest - and knowing what Ahri is like in the morning and Akali is like with the hangover she’s going to have, earliest isn’t going to happen.”
“Are you sure? I can catch a cab or something…”
“Not with the $22.50 in your purse you aren’t. If you want, you can pretend I kidnapped you,” said Evelynn with her signature evil smile, which got a watery laugh out of Seraphine.
“I suppose…”
*
Evelynn woke up to the sound of singing.
In the house that K/DA shared, waking up to someone singing wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Usually it would be Kai'Sa, who being the earliest to rise would sing to herself as she made breakfast. Ahri would occasionally duet with her and bully Kai'Sa into making her breakfast as well (Kai'Sa was entirely too soft for her own good), and Akali would walk around with headphones on “spittin’ bars'' although she was more often than not on her way into bed than out of it in the mornings.
This didn't sound like any of them.
The voice that she could hear coming from the kitchen was less refined than any of them, rising and falling with a different cadence than the voices that she had become intimately familiar with through uncountable hours of practising and recording together. It was clear and high, holding a rhythm even without an instrument or tune playing from a speaker.
Evelynn slid out of bed and opened her door silently, slipping on the dressing gown that hung on the back of it as she padded across the hall and down the stairs. Early morning light was streaming in through the windows and she could smell brewing coffee in the air. The singing continued as she hovered in the entry to the kitchen, observing the voice’s owner.
Seraphine was standing in front of the stove with her eyes closed and a spatula in one hand, the other holding the handle of a pan with an omelette sizzling merrily away in it.
“ You don't need to be strong, every single day ”, she sang, still oblivious to her audience until she turned with the pan and jumped about a foot into the air as she noticed Evelynn leaning back against the counter opposite her, mug of coffee already in hand.
“Eve, hi hello good morning,” she said, her face flushing as she slid the omelette onto a plate. “Oh my god did I wake you up I'm so sorry-”
“How long have you been singing?” Eve cut her off without any preamble.
“Um, like, this morning or like my lifetime stats?”
Evelynn raised an eyebrow. “Lifetime stats?”
“Sorry, I've been hanging out with Akali too much,” said Seraphine, flushing even more. “Um, since I was a kid I guess? I've been singing and playing guitar and piano and stuff since I was 5, but I only started writing my own stuff a few years ago, not that I do too much of that anymore after I started the job but I try to do it from time to ti-”
Eve held up a hand to stop her. “Ever played to an audience?”
“A couple of bars maybe.”
“Ever try to get on a label?”
“Not really.”
“Ever been scouted?”
“Like, did someone come and ask me to come play for them?”
“So that's a no?”
“I guess?”
Eve hummed and leaned back against the counter, eyes still on Seraphine’s increasingly confused face. “What were you making?, she asked, turning back to the table and surveying the small collection of bowls and knives that were neatly spread across the top of it. “Oh, um, I made breakfast, you know, as a thank you for picking me up yesterday” Seraphine said, thrown off balance for a moment. “I made enough for two but I didn't know what time you were going to be up…”
“Well I am now,” said Eve with a smile that was uncertainly returned.
Seraphine's culinary endeavours turned out to be surprisingly good omelettes paired with French toast, and Eve was pleasantly impressed by her coffee making skills.
“I worked as a barista for a while,” she explained between small bites, her awkwardness slowly evaporating as Eve prodded and poked her into telling her more about herself. It turned out that Seraphine (“Just call me Sera”) was more than just a saccharine sweet personality and an eye searing hairdo. She explained how she lived with her partner Rell (“She's a massive car nut, she'll go crazy when I tell her I got to check out your Charger”) and her cat Bao (“He's the fattest most spoiled animal in the city and he knows it”), and how she worked in marketing for a cosmetics company (“I do sounds for their ads and stuff”) and why she got into singing (“It's weird like…I can't not sing?”). Eve for her part focused on keeping her talking as her own mind whirred in the background.
Eventually Seraphine looked at the clock and did another double take before apologising profusely and saying that she needed to get back because Rell needed some help and Bao had to go to the vet. Evelynn called her a cab and lent her a bag for her stuff (“Evelynn why do you have a tote bag from Gucci?”), before staring after her thoughtfully long after the cab had left.
“Interesting…”